By Stephen Vance, Staff
Meaford’s Paul Osborn has released his first novel, The Remnants, which is a work of fiction woven into historical context. Osborn credits a love of hearing his grandfather’s stories about his experiences during The Great War for his inspiration and desire to write the novel.
“I have carried this amazing story with me and was determined to one day share it with others,” says Osborn. “And what better time to share it than the 100th anniversary of World War One?”
Osborn lives in Meaford, and says he was raised in a military family and during his formative years he lived on bases all across Canada. His own upbringing gave him an appreciation for the challenges and sacrifices that families face when they devote their lives to the service of their country.
The story within the pages of The Remnants spans four continents, and is told through the lives of two young lovers. It’s a story of passion, betrayal, joy, despair and quiet redemption – the story of enduring human spirit amid the agony and chaos of war.
Osborn told The Independent that the novel has been a labour of love for many years.
“I have been working on the story since 2007 although it has been with me since I was a young boy when my grandfather told me about his time in World War I. The greatest challenge by far was to commit to the demands of time and discipline it takes to write the story,” explained Osborn.
Even a labour of love has its challenges, and Osborn said that one of those was balancing a strong storyline and ensuring historical accuracy.
“When I started to write The Remnants I began with an outline for a screen play which required a strong mix of good story, great characters and compelling relationships. Once I decided to write a book instead I then tried to apply those same values by adding some dramatic elements into the true story of my grandparents and their struggle to get to Canada and their subsequent challenges during the Great War. Overall the story is about 75 percent true to their lives, the balance was added only to augment the storyline,” offered Osborn.
Osborn hopes that those who read his book will find a renewed appreciation for Canada’s role in the war.
“I hope that the readers will come away with a sense of how unique the Canadian commitment to the war truly was; that so many people, men and women of different backgrounds came together as a tiny country and made such a huge contribution to the war effort. Even then we celebrated a wide mix of ancestries, some were German who felt compelled to make other choices, indeed some friends parted knowing that they might face each other on the battlefield; that situation was uniquely Canadian,” Osborn explained. “I wrote this book as a tribute to my maternal grandparents who came to Canada from England to escape the repression of a heavily classed society and find the freedom to choose their own path without those encumbrances. I know that there are thousands of other great stories out there that need to find their way into the repertoire of our Canadian identity so that we can all understand them and embrace the great strength of our national identity.”
The Remnants is currently available as an e-book through Amazon.com, Apple’s iBookstore, BN.com, Google Play and KOBO. A portion of the proceeds of ‘The Remnants’ will be donated to True Patriot Love Foundation– a charity in support of Canadian Military Families. A print edition of the book is planned for release sometime in the new year.
